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How Do You View the Minor Hockey League Hierarchy?
by Primis on 06/19/09 at 10:56 AM ET | View all posts by Primis
Comments (4)
An interesting debate has been brewing in minor hockey forums lately about minor hockey’s place in the world, and in terms of how the leagues are viewed stacked against each other. Hockey doesn’t have an extremely-clear minor hierarchy like baseball does, and now franchise movement form league to league has brought about questions as to whether they are parallel moves, or moves upward.
Where does “AAA” fit in, and is the KHL included? I’m including the KHL in the discussion because it’s an interesting twist, in a way…
Or what about the “AA”? ECHL has been considered traditionally as “AA”, but both CHL and IHL have made claims to being “AA” as well.
So it got me to wondering: how do NHL fans see the minor hockey leagues stack up against each other?
So… I’m turning to you guys, the readers of KK. How do *you* guys (primarily NHL fans) think the following minor leagues stack up (I’ve listed them in nor particular order), in terms of level and hierarchy? Please take the list below and respond in the comments with your listing, highest to lowest.
NHL… ECHL… KHL… IHL… AHL… CHL…
If you could, please also include some explanations as to why you feel that way.
Thanks.
Filed in: Non-NHL Hockey, Minor League | KK Members Blog | Permalink
Comments
I should have noticed that, corrected it.
Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 06/19/09 at 04:35 PM ET
Here is my thought:
NHL - obviously.
KHL - also obvious. Some players see this as a destination.
AHL - feeder teams to the NHL.
ECHL - This is where it gets a little muddy. The ECHL is a younger league with some NHL connections and you still have a bit of a longshot to make the show. However, there are very few veterans in this league as the pay is very low.
IHL / CHL - No NHL connections and the leagues are a bit older. I don’t know a lot about the CHL, but have heard it is roughly equal to the IHL. Some ex-NHL’ers, but some guys straight from Juniors as well.
I said nothing groundbreaking here.
Posted by moore00 from the Ohio State University on 06/25/09 at 10:19 AM ET
Very interesting post, Primis - especially in these days. The KHL and the NHL are fast becoming competitors, the owners of the KHL have clearly shown that they can pay up-and-coming stars from our league about 50%-100% more than if they play ball in the NHL system.
That being said, I’m calling the NHL and the KHL brothers. Equally powerful, economically, to a point. I don’t think they have as many clubs as we do who can spend that kind of money, but they do have a few clubs who can outrank any CBA-strapped team. This situation will only get more interesting, for sure.
I’m fascinated by the possibility of the KHL becoming a farm league. Obviously, this vein, the AHL follows behind these.
Once you get to the next level, in my opinion, it’s all over the place. International smaller leagues and college teams, A-level teams from Breckenridge Colorado’s beer leagues, there’s talent everywhere. Not worth ranking beyond that point because it’s all for the good of the game.
Posted by Hippy Dave from San Francisco by way of Detroit on 07/13/09 at 05:22 AM ET
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And yes, I misspelled “hierarchy” in the title. :-p
Posted by Primis on 06/19/09 at 04:33 PM ET